Last week the Varsity Mustangs struggled against five very tough teams winning one of the games but using every opportunity to work on their problem areas.
We struggled offensively against Karnes City. They did a good job of putting pressure on us out of their zone and their length and size caused us to take bad shots and turn the ball over. I thought our defense played well and forced Karnes City into some bad first looks but they did a good job of crashing the offensive boards and were able to get some easy put backs as a result.
Points: Juelian Armendariz 16, Enrique DeOsio 3, Austin Guzman 6, Fabian Ruiz 6. Rebounds: Faelan Villarreal 1, Armendariz 6, DeOsio 3, Coltin Richardson 4, Jacob Navarro 8, Guzman 3, Ruiz 6. Steals: Villarreal 1, Armendariz 4, DeOsio 2. Blocks: Armendariz 1, DeOsio 2. Q1 6-10, Q2 8-26, Q3 19-41, Q4 31-53. FTP 36%
We opened up the McMullen County Tourney against McMullen County. They were able to knock down a few shots early and took a 10 point lead into the 2nd quarter. Offensively we started to play better but they were able to knock down a few more shots and took a 14 point lead into halftime. We came out in the 2nd half and cut the lead down to 10 before McMullen County closed the 3rd quarter on a big run to extend their lead to 22 points. We did a much better job on the boards and did not allow McMullen to get many 2nd chance opportunities. They were able to knock down six 3s at some big moments to stop any sort of run we had going on.
Points: Armendariz 9, DeOsio 7, Joshua San Miguel 6, Guzman 3, Ruiz 4. Rebounds: Armendariz 7, DeOsio 4, San Miguel 2, Oscar Torres 4, Navarro 2, Guzman 7, Ruiz 12. Steals: Armendariz 1, Guzman 1, Ruiz 2. Q1 3-13, Q2 12-26, Q3 18-40, Q4 29-54. FTP 39%
The second game of the tourney was against Charlotte. We started slow but were able to get some shots to fall for us offensively. I thought we did a great job defensively giving up our lowest point total all season long and scoring our season high 52 points. Our defensive pressure led to 25 turnovers and 25 points for us, including 18 transition points (all season highs for us). Juelian Armendariz led the way with 19 points and Enrique DeOsio contributed 10 points. Our biggest achievement against Charlotte was our lack of turnovers. We only had 9 turnovers and that allowed us to get up 74 shots on offense. If we can take care of the ball, we will get plenty of shot opportunities.
Points: Villarreal 2, Armendariz 19, DeOsio 10, San Miguel 6, Torres 1, Guzman 7, Ruiz 7. Rebounds: Villarreal 2, Armendariz 4, DeOsio 2, Coltin Richardson 5, San Miguel 5, Torres 5, Navarro 6, Guzman 7, Ruiz 2. Steals: Armendariz 6, DeOsio 2, Richardson 1, Ruiz 7. Blocks: DeOsio 1, Richardson 1, San Miguel 1. Q1 12-10, Q2 27-21, Q3 39-28, Q4 52-37. FTP 46%
After finishing up pool play vs. McMullen and Charlotte we were matchup up against George West in bracket play. We played well early on and trailed by 7 as we entered halftime but George West continued to build on their lead as we were not able to get defensive stops.
Points: Villarreal 4, Armendariz 4, DeOsio 3, Richardson 10, Navarro 3, Guzman 3, Ruiz 8. Rebounds: Villarreal 1, Armendariz 6, DeOsio 3, Richardson 9, San Miguel 1, Torres 1, Navarro 5, Guzman 2, Ruiz 14. Steals: Villarreal 1, Armendariz 3, DeOsio 1, Richardson 5. Blocks: Armendariz 1, Richardson 1, Navarro 1, Ruiz 1. Q1 10-14, Q2 15-21, Q2 23-35, Q4 37-52. FTP 33%
Last game of the tournament was against a good Yorktown team who could shoot the ball very well. They were 7/14 from beyond the arc in the first half that helped them take an early 22-8 lead. We were able to climb back into the game and cut it to 9 going into halftime but they outscored us by 12 in the 3rd quarter to take a commanding lead that we were not able to recover from. They did a good job of putting pressure on us and when we did have opportunities inside they were able to block a lot of shots with their 6’7 big man inside. Although he did a good job of protecting the rim for Yorktown I thought we were aggressive and looked to get to the bucket.
Points: Villarreal 4, Armendariz 6, DeOsio 14, San Miguel 5, Navarro 6, Ruiz 8. Rebounds: Armenadriz 7, DeOsio 4, Richardson 1, San Miguel 3, Torres 1, Navarro 6, Guzman 5, Ruiz 9. Steals: Armendariz 1, DeOsio 4, Navarro 1, Guzman 1, Ruiz 2. Blocks: Armendariz 1, DeOsio 1, Ruiz 1.
Q1 6-15, Q2 25-36, Q3 31-54, Q4 43-64. FTP 43%
Overall we are still trying to put everything together. At this point of the season we have played 6 games and only practiced with all of our guys a combined 4 times. I am excited about where we are defensively at this point. We are holding teams to about 10 PPG less than what we were allowing last year at this point. Not where we feel like we need to be to have a chance to win but that is only going to get better as the season moves along. Our offensive struggles and missed shots are going to get better as the season goes along as well.
We will have our home opener this Tuesday as a good Leakey team will come to town and then we will head to the Kennedy Tournament this weekend for another 4 games in 3 days.
By Coach Justin Welsh